Brunei Restaurant Review: Phongmun Restaurant

It’s amazing that Phongmun Restaurant is celebrating it’s 30th anniversary this year. I remember vivid memories of having dim sum here with my family as a little kid as I used to live in Kampung Ayer.

 

Besides dim sum during the weekends, I’ve also attended countless wedding celebrations here. Notice that this place is pretty child friendly as they got quite a number of baby chairs in this picture.

 

I would say Phongmun is a family restaurant, catering to weekends for the common tradition of a Chinese family having dim sum together and having quality family time together.

 

I guess because a lot of us grew up coming to this restaurant, we did not stop to appreciate some of the carvings and décor in the restaurant, which otherwise – we would marvel in awe if we were in a new restaurant or in another country. Have you ever stop to marvel at these dragon sculptures?

 

They also have a VIP room and these other traditional Chinese structures. Perhaps the younger generation need to drag themselves out of bed to have early Dim Sum, they didn’t really appreciate the ambience.

 

My camera doesn’t do justice for this beautiful sculpture in their VIP room. It’s quite a majestic sight!

 

Now Phongmum restaurant is not just about the Dim Sum ~ they do offer plenty of options when it comes to Chinese food. For starters, they have  Lunch Specials for every Tuesday: Chicken Rice and every Thursday: Suckling Pig w/ rice. While they also serve Charsiew/ Roasted Pork/ Roasted Duck/ Roasted Chicken from Monday till Friday. They are pretty popular during lunch, as there’s quite a big working population around Bandar Town area.

 

One thing you might not know is that they serve pretty good Chinese Fine Dining at Phongmun restaurant, or some might call these – Kung Fu Cuisine! For this post, I will highlight and show you some of their delicious, time consuming dishes that require real Kung Fu/Cooking Techniques. They usually require you to make advance orders for these dishes – usually one or two days in advance! Check out this huge Lobster Salad!

 

If it’s a special occasion where you want to celebrate – or a big client you want to impress – you won’t go wrong with this exquisite lobster salad. Confirm very ‘got face’. Beautifully decorated and bound to catch anyone’s attention.

 

Lobster meat ~~ oooh yes please!

 

This is the Double Boiled Chicken Ginseng soup – using carefully selected Kampung Chicken cooked with Chinese herbs and Ginseng. A very hearty soup with tons of health benefits!

 

Double Flavour Chicken or Bai Hua Xuang Wei Chi is a combination of two dishes: Buttermilk chicken cubes & Fish Paste topped with Crispy Chicken Skin.

 

The chicken skin is carefully taken out and turned into this crispy top for the fish paste. Yum! The headchef really showcases the technique of Chinese cooking in this dish that looked so simple.

 

Phongmun Signature Beancurd – The Phongmum’s version of home made seafood beancurd served in a thick gravy – unlike typical ones which is usually served with mayonnaise.

 

Braised Abalone, Winter Mushroom & Sea Cucumber served in Phongmun Signature sauce. This can be served on individual plates equally divided for your guests. Look at that delicious abalone! I bet you would love to take a picture with that now and instagram it!

 

#abalone #huatah #likealousai #finedining #foodadventures

 

Mei Ting and Poh Chuan enjoying their posh Chinese fine dining experience ~~

 

One of my favourite Chinese dishes - Braised Pork Knuckle with handmade Mantou – *slurps*

 

One simply does not say no to these gelatinous fatty pork – after longs hours of braising to absorb the flavours of the sauce and softened to a jelly like texture! Hubba hubba!

 

They are even better – served with your choice of steamed or deep fried mantous (all homemade by the dimsum chefs of Phongmun restaurant)

 

That awesome moment when you use the fried mantou to *kiap* (sandwich) the pork fatty part with meaty part with the oozing gravy ~~~~~~ OMG! HOW CAN YOU RESIST THIS! NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM!!! ATTACK!!!

 

Another Kung Fu dish for the night is this Steamed Chinese Pomfret, Qiling-style, with crispy fried fish bones.

 

The bones had been removed – fish sliced and arranged perfectly with ham, carrots and mushroom and served with sauce.

 

A beautiful dish that requires a lot of knife skills and preparation. Another great dish to impress your guests or to treat your loved ones.

 

The crispy deep fried fish bones are deep fried till cracker like texture and dipped with sauce for a good crunchy snack to accompany the fish – I have to admit I really enjoyed this dish. A dish that can put a smile on your face.

 

I’ve heard good things about their Yangzhou Fried Rice and I’m not disappointed. It’s pretty good and served as a good accompaniment tonight to the fine dishes we have.

 

We end our fine dining experience at Phongmun with a delicacy you often see in Chinese Wedding banquets – Sesame balls with lotus paste. I know a lot of friends who really loved these! ~~ bon appetit!

 

Phongmun restaurant does have other common Chinese dishes in their menu if you wish – but that’s for another blog post. This post mostly highlights the availability of Chinese Fine Dining dishes suitable for special occasions and weddings – or just a foodie culinary journey.

Good news:

Phongmun 30th Anniversary Promotion (1- 31 Mar)

15% discount off total bill for orders above BND$100 if you dine in during dinner time from 7pm – 10pm daily during the 1st till 31st of March!

 

Phongmum Restaurant

Opening hours: 7am to 10pm daily

Address: 2nd Floor, Teck Guan Plaza, Jln Sultan

Tel: (673) 2229591/ 2229562

Gingko nuts, Barley, Beancurd Sheets and Quail Eggs Sweet Soup

Traditionally, this sweet soup (tong sui) is usually made for pregnant ladies and is thought to give the babies a fairer skin. I decided to do more research on the health benefits of the ingredients.

Barley has recently been researched to help lower cholesterol and blood pressure. Barley is also good for your bladder.


Gingko nuts, are considered lung soothing and is prescribed in TCM for bronchitis, asthma, cough, and numerous other conditions. It is also said to be good for the brain and memory boosting. The recorded use of ginkgo seed in China for food and medicine dates back 2,000 years. Although one should not eat more than 8 gingko nuts per day, as too much can be toxic.


Chinese medical practitioners have used quail eggs for thousands of years to successfully combat allergies such as rhinitis (sensitive sinus or nose) , asthma, hay fever, spasmodic cough and skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis. More recently they have been used in Russia and Poland, and they are widely available from pharmacies in France, Switzerland and Germany.


It's no wonder this recipe has been passed down for generations as a nutritious soup. Now let's get cooking~~


Ingredients:
1 cup Of China Barley(中国薏米)
2 packets Of Ginkgo Nuts (白果) - can buy from fridge section of Hua Ho near their fresh mushrooms.
1 Packet Of Bean Curd Sheet(腐竹) - buy from dried foods section
1 can of quail eggs - can find in most canned food sections
200g Rock Sugar To Taste (add more if you want it to be sweeter)
2 Litres Of Water
Few Pieces Of Pandan Leaves, wash and tied into knot
1 Egg, lightly beaten

Directions:

1. Rinse barley in several changes of water until water runs clear.
2. Place barley in a stock pot with water and pandan leaves, bring to boil and low the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, marinate the ginkgo nuts with 1-2 tablespoons of castor sugar and set aside. At the same time, drain and wash the quail eggs from the can, then soak them in water with 1-2 tablespoons of sugar.
4. Soak the beancurd sheets in water until really soft. If not soft enough, add 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate soda to the water. (This step is crucial for silky soft bean sheet skin)
5. When the barley water is done, removed the pandan leaves and add in the bean curd sheet and simmer on medium heat for about 20 minutes.
6. Next add in the rock sugar and ginkgo nuts then continue to simmer for about 10 – 15 minutes depending on how scattered you want the bean curd sheet to be.
7. Lastly, add in the beaten egg and stir until well combined .
8. Add the quail eggs, stir well, then kill the heat. Serve it warm.